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The video game industry has been growing rapidly in the recent years, reaching almost 2 billion players worldwide and sometimes even exceeding profits and other numbers put up by such entertainment juggernauts as the Hollywood. It is safe to say that video-games have become an integral part of contemporary popculture, contributing to the formation of attitudes, especially among younger audiences (18–35 years old). This is especially poignant in the case of historical games, which have always been popular and have been representing one or another version of historical narration for years. Nevertheless, despite the immense popularity of videogames and their growing presence within contemporary culture, historians, political and social scientists have been often neglecting video game studies primarily because of its infancy and inadequacy to provide space for political reflection and argumentation. According to the skeptics, video games can only reflect the current tendencies within the order of neoliberalism prevailing in the world. However, the article contradicts this by proposing to treat this situation as an opportunity instead of an excuse – the fact that video games can reflect the injustices of today's world without providing criticism should act as a catalyst for further studies of political argumentation within the medium of video games, which in turn would contribute to further theorizations on the critical potential of video games in connection to politics. This is deemed especially important in the case of reconstructing historical narratives in the most popular video games, the majority of which focus on various historical instances of war. As a result, the first part of the article presents an analysis on both the potential and limitations of videogames to act as spaces for the commemoration of historical memory. The second part aims to ground the theoretical implications by considering to examples of video game industries – the United States and Russia – and techniques as well as directions that they employ in reconstructing the popular prosthetic memory related to wars in which these countries had participated. The article concludes with the idea that historical games can indeed act as a space for producing specific historical narratives oriented toward the popular memory. When it comes to American games, they mostly focus on presenting more personal stories regarding the heroic and virtuous American soldiers during a given War. This, supplemented by a diminished or exaggerated account of actions taken by other allies (as well as enemies) aims at whitewashing the American historical memory. Among the Russian games, however, personal identification through emotional storybuilding is much less pronounced. Its place is taken by focusing on the technological domination and de-personalized stories of bravery employed by the Russians and Soviets. To conclude, the article once again calls for more engagement with the medium of videogames from the side of social and political science as well as history. Video games have quickly become one of the main venues for younger demographic groups to get their first pieces of knowledge regarding history, politics, gender and other topics. The importance of this is understood not only by American but by Russian officials as well, which demands more research on the power of games and their critical potential. This engagement would allow for less political manipulation (especially in the case of historical games) and for a better understanding and fulfillment of the potential of video games.

The video game industry has been growing rapidly in the recent years, reaching almost 2 billion players worldwide and sometimes even exceeding profits and other numbers put up by such entertainment juggernauts as the Hollywood. It is safe to say that video-games have become an integral part of contemporary popculture, contributing to the formation of attitudes, especially among younger audiences (18–35 years old). This is especially poignant in the case of historical games, which have always been popular and have been representing one or another version of historical narration for years. Nevertheless, despite the immense popularity of videogames and their growing presence within contemporary culture, historians, political and social scientists have been often neglecting video game studies primarily because of its infancy and inadequacy to provide space for political reflection and argumentation. According to the skeptics, video games can only reflect the current tendencies within the order of neoliberalism prevailing in the world. However, the article contradicts this by proposing to treat this situation as an opportunity instead of an excuse – the fact that video games can reflect the injustices of today's world without providing criticism should act as a catalyst for further studies of political argumentation within the medium of video games, which in turn would contribute to further theorizations on the critical potential of video games in connection to politics. This is deemed especially important in the case of reconstructing historical narratives in the most popular video games, the majority of which focus on various historical instances of war. As a result, the first part of the article presents an analysis on both the potential and limitations of videogames to act as spaces for the commemoration of historical memory. The second part aims to ground the theoretical implications by considering to examples of video game industries – the United States and Russia – and techniques as well as directions that they employ in reconstructing the popular prosthetic memory related to wars in which these countries had participated. The article concludes with the idea that historical games can indeed act as a space for producing specific historical narratives oriented toward the popular memory. When it comes to American games, they mostly focus on presenting more personal stories regarding the heroic and virtuous American soldiers during a given War. This, supplemented by a diminished or exaggerated account of actions taken by other allies (as well as enemies) aims at whitewashing the American historical memory. Among the Russian games, however, personal identification through emotional storybuilding is much less pronounced. Its place is taken by focusing on the technological domination and de-personalized stories of bravery employed by the Russians and Soviets. To conclude, the article once again calls for more engagement with the medium of videogames from the side of social and political science as well as history. Video games have quickly become one of the main venues for younger demographic groups to get their first pieces of knowledge regarding history, politics, gender and other topics. The importance of this is understood not only by American but by Russian officials as well, which demands more research on the power of games and their critical potential. This engagement would allow for less political manipulation (especially in the case of historical games) and for a better understanding and fulfillment of the potential of video games.

The video game industry has been growing rapidly in the recent years, reaching almost 2 billion players worldwide and sometimes even exceeding profits and other numbers put up by such entertainment juggernauts as the Hollywood. It is safe to say that video-games have become an integral part of contemporary popculture, contributing to the formation of attitudes, especially among younger audiences (18–35 years old). This is especially poignant in the case of historical games, which have always been popular and have been representing one or another version of historical narration for years. Nevertheless, despite the immense popularity of videogames and their growing presence within contemporary culture, historians, political and social scientists have been often neglecting video game studies primarily because of its infancy and inadequacy to provide space for political reflection and argumentation. According to the skeptics, video games can only reflect the current tendencies within the order of neoliberalism prevailing in the world. However, the article contradicts this by proposing to treat this situation as an opportunity instead of an excuse – the fact that video games can reflect the injustices of today's world without providing criticism should act as a catalyst for further studies of political argumentation within the medium of video games, which in turn would contribute to further theorizations on the critical potential of video games in connection to politics. This is deemed especially important in the case of reconstructing historical narratives in the most popular video games, the majority of which focus on various historical instances of war. As a result, the first part of the article presents an analysis on both the potential and limitations of videogames to act as spaces for the commemoration of historical memory. The second part aims to ground the theoretical implications by considering to examples of video game industries – the United States and Russia – and techniques as well as directions that they employ in reconstructing the popular prosthetic memory related to wars in which these countries had participated. The article concludes with the idea that historical games can indeed act as a space for producing specific historical narratives oriented toward the popular memory. When it comes to American games, they mostly focus on presenting more personal stories regarding the heroic and virtuous American soldiers during a given War. This, supplemented by a diminished or exaggerated account of actions taken by other allies (as well as enemies) aims at whitewashing the American historical memory. Among the Russian games, however, personal identification through emotional storybuilding is much less pronounced. Its place is taken by focusing on the technological domination and de-personalized stories of bravery employed by the Russians and Soviets. To conclude, the article once again calls for more engagement with the medium of videogames from the side of social and political science as well as history. Video games have quickly become one of the main venues for younger demographic groups to get their first pieces of knowledge regarding history, politics, gender and other topics. The importance of this is understood not only by American but by Russian officials as well, which demands more research on the power of games and their critical potential. This engagement would allow for less political manipulation (especially in the case of historical games) and for a better understanding and fulfillment of the potential of video games.

The video game industry has been growing rapidly in the recent years, reaching almost 2 billion players worldwide and sometimes even exceeding profits and other numbers put up by such entertainment juggernauts as the Hollywood. It is safe to say that video-games have become an integral part of contemporary popculture, contributing to the formation of attitudes, especially among younger audiences (18–35 years old). This is especially poignant in the case of historical games, which have always been popular and have been representing one or another version of historical narration for years. Nevertheless, despite the immense popularity of videogames and their growing presence within contemporary culture, historians, political and social scientists have been often neglecting video game studies primarily because of its infancy and inadequacy to provide space for political reflection and argumentation. According to the skeptics, video games can only reflect the current tendencies within the order of neoliberalism prevailing in the world. However, the article contradicts this by proposing to treat this situation as an opportunity instead of an excuse – the fact that video games can reflect the injustices of today's world without providing criticism should act as a catalyst for further studies of political argumentation within the medium of video games, which in turn would contribute to further theorizations on the critical potential of video games in connection to politics. This is deemed especially important in the case of reconstructing historical narratives in the most popular video games, the majority of which focus on various historical instances of war. As a result, the first part of the article presents an analysis on both the potential and limitations of videogames to act as spaces for the commemoration of historical memory. The second part aims to ground the theoretical implications by considering to examples of video game industries – the United States and Russia – and techniques as well as directions that they employ in reconstructing the popular prosthetic memory related to wars in which these countries had participated. The article concludes with the idea that historical games can indeed act as a space for producing specific historical narratives oriented toward the popular memory. When it comes to American games, they mostly focus on presenting more personal stories regarding the heroic and virtuous American soldiers during a given War. This, supplemented by a diminished or exaggerated account of actions taken by other allies (as well as enemies) aims at whitewashing the American historical memory. Among the Russian games, however, personal identification through emotional storybuilding is much less pronounced. Its place is taken by focusing on the technological domination and de-personalized stories of bravery employed by the Russians and Soviets. To conclude, the article once again calls for more engagement with the medium of videogames from the side of social and political science as well as history. Video games have quickly become one of the main venues for younger demographic groups to get their first pieces of knowledge regarding history, politics, gender and other topics. The importance of this is understood not only by American but by Russian officials as well, which demands more research on the power of games and their critical potential. This engagement would allow for less political manipulation (especially in the case of historical games) and for a better understanding and fulfillment of the potential of video games.

The Master Thesis for the first time attempts to analyze the uprising led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in light of cultural memory research. Cultural memory cannot be apolitical. Hence, the present paper analyzes Lithuanian and Polish recollections and political history issues in relation to the memories of Tadeusz Kościuszko. The shapes that the remembrance of this historical figure take and the ways it is manifested in public opinion are researched. The paper is based on the Western European cultural memory researches and historiography. The research results revealed that, contrary to the Lithuanian experiences, the Polish tended to tell the myth of Tadeusz Kościuszko with great importance in the 19th century. The stories were later assimilated by the Polish romanticists of the 19th century who highlighted and gave prominence to certain merits of this historical figure. The historical discourse of the interwar period showed that the character of Tadeusz Kościuszko was overshadowed by the grand dukes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Similar to the 20th century, the historical discourse of the interwar Poland revealed that the historians chose two different positions: the ones who glorified Tadeusz Kościuszko and the ones who criticized him. During the Soviet time, both the Lithuanians and the Polish attempted to turn Tadeusz Kościuszko into a symbol of propaganda of social progress and class conflict. The historical sources of the independent Lithuania showed that the importance of the Uprising of 1794 itself was deemed the most prominent. Meanwhile, a different tendency was noticed in the Polish historical discourse which believed that the leader Tadeusz Kościuszko was the most important figure. There is one monument and seven streets named after Tadeusz Kościuszko in Lithuania. The Polish, however, employ a variety of means to immortalize the memory of Tadeusz Kościuszko, such as monuments, busts, memorial boards, etc. There are 21 streets named after this historical figure in Poland. The memory of Tadeusz Kościuszko in the public opinion in Lithuania is shaped via the news channels, educational portals and exhibitions in museums. The historical novel of V. Zeitler and the memoirs of M. K. Ogiński can also be attributed to such. The memory of Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Polish public opinion is shaped through the relation of the people with the entirety of the recollections of this historical figure.

The Master Thesis for the first time attempts to analyze the uprising led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in light of cultural memory research. Cultural memory cannot be apolitical. Hence, the present paper analyzes Lithuanian and Polish recollections and political history issues in relation to the memories of Tadeusz Kościuszko. The shapes that the remembrance of this historical figure take and the ways it is manifested in public opinion are researched. The paper is based on the Western European cultural memory researches and historiography. The research results revealed that, contrary to the Lithuanian experiences, the Polish tended to tell the myth of Tadeusz Kościuszko with great importance in the 19th century. The stories were later assimilated by the Polish romanticists of the 19th century who highlighted and gave prominence to certain merits of this historical figure. The historical discourse of the interwar period showed that the character of Tadeusz Kościuszko was overshadowed by the grand dukes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Similar to the 20th century, the historical discourse of the interwar Poland revealed that the historians chose two different positions: the ones who glorified Tadeusz Kościuszko and the ones who criticized him. During the Soviet time, both the Lithuanians and the Polish attempted to turn Tadeusz Kościuszko into a symbol of propaganda of social progress and class conflict. The historical sources of the independent Lithuania showed that the importance of the Uprising of 1794 itself was deemed the most prominent. Meanwhile, a different tendency was noticed in the Polish historical discourse which believed that the leader Tadeusz Kościuszko was the most important figure. There is one monument and seven streets named after Tadeusz Kościuszko in Lithuania. The Polish, however, employ a variety of means to immortalize the memory of Tadeusz Kościuszko, such as monuments, busts, memorial boards, etc. There are 21 streets named after this historical figure in Poland. The memory of Tadeusz Kościuszko in the public opinion in Lithuania is shaped via the news channels, educational portals and exhibitions in museums. The historical novel of V. Zeitler and the memoirs of M. K. Ogiński can also be attributed to such. The memory of Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Polish public opinion is shaped through the relation of the people with the entirety of the recollections of this historical figure.

Collective memory is a necessary attribute to every modern political community. In recent years, never-ceasing "wars of memory" in Lithuania and especially in Latvia and Estonia determine the importance of understanding the policy of history and memory. The trajectories of consolidation of political elite at the beginning of transformation period and traditions of historical consciousness became the fundamental factors which underlie the guidelines of the policy of memory in the three Baltic States. In this article the tendencies of politics of memory in the Baltic States are compared and generalized. By doing this those tendencies are distinguished into two different, although partly complementary spheres: the actualization of soviet memory and the tensions of national narrative that are caused by the processes of "liberalization" of history. Politics of memory are much more liberalized in Lithuania than in Latvia and Estonia. Part of the reason is the successful transformation of former communist party which reinforced the discourse of rehabilitation of soviet memory as stable, industrializing and modernizing period in Lithuania's history. The "liberalization" could also be felt in terms of deconstruction of national narrative. The most important role is appointed for Grand Duchy of Lithuania as tolerant and legalistic state and the rejection of searching of ethnic attributes of Duchy. In Latvia and Estonia the assertive rejection to partly rehabilitate the Soviet memory still dominates. This was influenced by the absence of sound ex-communist party and tradition of political elite to seclude the parties of Russian minority from ruling coalitions. Soviet history is depicted as an enslavement of titular nations and this depiction consistently supplements the traditional national narrative.

Collective memory is a necessary attribute to every modern political community. In recent years, never-ceasing "wars of memory" in Lithuania and especially in Latvia and Estonia determine the importance of understanding the policy of history and memory. The trajectories of consolidation of political elite at the beginning of transformation period and traditions of historical consciousness became the fundamental factors which underlie the guidelines of the policy of memory in the three Baltic States. In this article the tendencies of politics of memory in the Baltic States are compared and generalized. By doing this those tendencies are distinguished into two different, although partly complementary spheres: the actualization of soviet memory and the tensions of national narrative that are caused by the processes of "liberalization" of history. Politics of memory are much more liberalized in Lithuania than in Latvia and Estonia. Part of the reason is the successful transformation of former communist party which reinforced the discourse of rehabilitation of soviet memory as stable, industrializing and modernizing period in Lithuania's history. The "liberalization" could also be felt in terms of deconstruction of national narrative. The most important role is appointed for Grand Duchy of Lithuania as tolerant and legalistic state and the rejection of searching of ethnic attributes of Duchy. In Latvia and Estonia the assertive rejection to partly rehabilitate the Soviet memory still dominates. This was influenced by the absence of sound ex-communist party and tradition of political elite to seclude the parties of Russian minority from ruling coalitions. Soviet history is depicted as an enslavement of titular nations and this depiction consistently supplements the traditional national narrative.

Collective memory is a necessary attribute to every modern political community. In recent years, never-ceasing "wars of memory" in Lithuania and especially in Latvia and Estonia determine the importance of understanding the policy of history and memory. The trajectories of consolidation of political elite at the beginning of transformation period and traditions of historical consciousness became the fundamental factors which underlie the guidelines of the policy of memory in the three Baltic States. In this article the tendencies of politics of memory in the Baltic States are compared and generalized. By doing this those tendencies are distinguished into two different, although partly complementary spheres: the actualization of soviet memory and the tensions of national narrative that are caused by the processes of "liberalization" of history. Politics of memory are much more liberalized in Lithuania than in Latvia and Estonia. Part of the reason is the successful transformation of former communist party which reinforced the discourse of rehabilitation of soviet memory as stable, industrializing and modernizing period in Lithuania's history. The "liberalization" could also be felt in terms of deconstruction of national narrative. The most important role is appointed for Grand Duchy of Lithuania as tolerant and legalistic state and the rejection of searching of ethnic attributes of Duchy. In Latvia and Estonia the assertive rejection to partly rehabilitate the Soviet memory still dominates. This was influenced by the absence of sound ex-communist party and tradition of political elite to seclude the parties of Russian minority from ruling coalitions. Soviet history is depicted as an enslavement of titular nations and this depiction consistently supplements the traditional national narrative.

The dissertation "Communicative Significance of the Media and Memory Drives in Forming the Collective Memory of Armia Krajowa in the Middle of the 20th Century" aims at researching the role of memory drives and the media in the construction and dissemination of collective memory and at identifying the communicative factors that predetermined the construction and change in the collective memory of Armia Krajowa in the middle of the 20th century. The dissertation relies on the assumption that public memory may be open to different collective memories which share similar narratives. This approach draws upon the theory of communicative action by Jürgen Habermas. The pluralism of public memory may be ensured by including into the process of its construction memory drives, which are associated with collective memories which have the narrative and communicate the values identical to public memory. The media use memory drives for the authenticity of the memory narrative constructed. Memory drives mean independent communication channels which are integrated in the narrative created by the media and which acquire new meaning due to the interpretative capacity of the media. The narrative of collective memory of Armia Krajowa was based on the propaganda disseminated by the AK Information and Propaganda Office, however, the narrative created was not reinforced by media drives. For this reason, the collective memory narrative on AK changes under the influence of the new media today, gets reduced to the events of the summer of 1944. This has been influenced by the new media which communicated the narrative about the military operations of the summer of 1944.

The dissertation "Communicative Significance of the Media and Memory Drives in Forming the Collective Memory of Armia Krajowa in the Middle of the 20th Century" aims at researching the role of memory drives and the media in the construction and dissemination of collective memory and at identifying the communicative factors that predetermined the construction and change in the collective memory of Armia Krajowa in the middle of the 20th century. The dissertation relies on the assumption that public memory may be open to different collective memories which share similar narratives. This approach draws upon the theory of communicative action by Jürgen Habermas. The pluralism of public memory may be ensured by including into the process of its construction memory drives, which are associated with collective memories which have the narrative and communicate the values identical to public memory. The media use memory drives for the authenticity of the memory narrative constructed. Memory drives mean independent communication channels which are integrated in the narrative created by the media and which acquire new meaning due to the interpretative capacity of the media. The narrative of collective memory of Armia Krajowa was based on the propaganda disseminated by the AK Information and Propaganda Office, however, the narrative created was not reinforced by media drives. For this reason, the collective memory narrative on AK changes under the influence of the new media today, gets reduced to the events of the summer of 1944. This has been influenced by the new media which communicated the narrative about the military operations of the summer of 1944.

The dissertation "Communicative Significance of the Media and Memory Drives in Forming the Collective Memory of Armia Krajowa in the Middle of the 20th Century" aims at researching the role of memory drives and the media in the construction and dissemination of collective memory and at identifying the communicative factors that predetermined the construction and change in the collective memory of Armia Krajowa in the middle of the 20th century. The dissertation relies on the assumption that public memory may be open to different collective memories which share similar narratives. This approach draws upon the theory of communicative action by Jürgen Habermas. The pluralism of public memory may be ensured by including into the process of its construction memory drives, which are associated with collective memories which have the narrative and communicate the values identical to public memory. The media use memory drives for the authenticity of the memory narrative constructed. Memory drives mean independent communication channels which are integrated in the narrative created by the media and which acquire new meaning due to the interpretative capacity of the media. The narrative of collective memory of Armia Krajowa was based on the propaganda disseminated by the AK Information and Propaganda Office, however, the narrative created was not reinforced by media drives. For this reason, the collective memory narrative on AK changes under the influence of the new media today, gets reduced to the events of the summer of 1944. This has been influenced by the new media which communicated the narrative about the military operations of the summer of 1944.

The dissertation "Communicative Significance of the Media and Memory Drives in Forming the Collective Memory of Armia Krajowa in the Middle of the 20th Century" aims at researching the role of memory drives and the media in the construction and dissemination of collective memory and at identifying the communicative factors that predetermined the construction and change in the collective memory of Armia Krajowa in the middle of the 20th century. The dissertation relies on the assumption that public memory may be open to different collective memories which share similar narratives. This approach draws upon the theory of communicative action by Jürgen Habermas. The pluralism of public memory may be ensured by including into the process of its construction memory drives, which are associated with collective memories which have the narrative and communicate the values identical to public memory. The media use memory drives for the authenticity of the memory narrative constructed. Memory drives mean independent communication channels which are integrated in the narrative created by the media and which acquire new meaning due to the interpretative capacity of the media. The narrative of collective memory of Armia Krajowa was based on the propaganda disseminated by the AK Information and Propaganda Office, however, the narrative created was not reinforced by media drives. For this reason, the collective memory narrative on AK changes under the influence of the new media today, gets reduced to the events of the summer of 1944. This has been influenced by the new media which communicated the narrative about the military operations of the summer of 1944.

The dissertation "Communicative Significance of the Media and Memory Drives in Forming the Collective Memory of Armia Krajowa in the Middle of the 20th Century" aims at researching the role of memory drives and the media in the construction and dissemination of collective memory and at identifying the communicative factors that predetermined the construction and change in the collective memory of Armia Krajowa in the middle of the 20th century. The dissertation relies on the assumption that public memory may be open to different collective memories which share similar narratives. This approach draws upon the theory of communicative action by Jürgen Habermas. The pluralism of public memory may be ensured by including into the process of its construction memory drives, which are associated with collective memories which have the narrative and communicate the values identical to public memory. The media use memory drives for the authenticity of the memory narrative constructed. Memory drives mean independent communication channels which are integrated in the narrative created by the media and which acquire new meaning due to the interpretative capacity of the media. The narrative of collective memory of Armia Krajowa was based on the propaganda disseminated by the AK Information and Propaganda Office, however, the narrative created was not reinforced by media drives. For this reason, the collective memory narrative on AK changes under the influence of the new media today, gets reduced to the events of the summer of 1944. This has been influenced by the new media which communicated the narrative about the military operations of the summer of 1944.

The dissertation "Communicative Significance of the Media and Memory Drives in Forming the Collective Memory of Armia Krajowa in the Middle of the 20th Century" aims at researching the role of memory drives and the media in the construction and dissemination of collective memory and at identifying the communicative factors that predetermined the construction and change in the collective memory of Armia Krajowa in the middle of the 20th century. The dissertation relies on the assumption that public memory may be open to different collective memories which share similar narratives. This approach draws upon the theory of communicative action by Jürgen Habermas. The pluralism of public memory may be ensured by including into the process of its construction memory drives, which are associated with collective memories which have the narrative and communicate the values identical to public memory. The media use memory drives for the authenticity of the memory narrative constructed. Memory drives mean independent communication channels which are integrated in the narrative created by the media and which acquire new meaning due to the interpretative capacity of the media. The narrative of collective memory of Armia Krajowa was based on the propaganda disseminated by the AK Information and Propaganda Office, however, the narrative created was not reinforced by media drives. For this reason, the collective memory narrative on AK changes under the influence of the new media today, gets reduced to the events of the summer of 1944. This has been influenced by the new media which communicated the narrative about the military operations of the summer of 1944.